Deadly Encounter

by K. L. Humphreys

  “Please Rachel, that’s not fair. Joining the army is something Ryder has always wanted to do. What have you always wanted to do?” A whore springs to my mind when my mom asks her the question.

  “I’ve always wanted to be a wife and a mother. I thought Ryder loved me, I thought we’re going to be together forever, but he just strung me along.” The fake tears make me angry; I can’t take much more of this!

  “You should have spoken to him about how you were feeling. The best way, no, the only way for a relationship to work is to communicate.” Mom explains, and I think she’s trying to tell me that without actually telling me.

  “I tried, he never…” Rachel starts to say, but I’m done!

  “Shut up, just shut up; I’m sick of your goddamn excuses!” I turn and shout at her, and I watch as the tears roll down her face, I can’t seem to bring myself to care anymore. She’s lied to me so much already, I hate her, and I’ll never forgive her. The sound of the rain battering against the car is loud compared to the silence coming from this woman next to me.

  I hear a car horn and I quickly right myself as my mom screams. All I can see is bright lights; they’re way too close to me. I swerve to try and get out of the way but it’s too late, we’re hit at full speed! The screams are getting louder as my Dodge Charger is flipped and it rolls, and rolls and I don’t know if it will ever stop. The screams that were coming from the back have stopped, I try and move, but my legs are trapped. I need to move, I reach down and try and pull my legs free but it’s no use.

  “Mom? Mom, talk to me, mom!” I scream at her, why isn’t she talking to me? No one except me is making a sound, and I can’t move, and I can’t get to them. “Mom!”

  “Sir, are you okay? Can you hear me?” I look out the window and see a man looking through the window, he seems to be assessing everything, “Helps on the way, just stay calm, and are you injured?”

  “I don’t know; my legs are trapped. Can you please check on my mom, she’s not answering me?” I try and move, but I’m still stuck!

  “Don’t move, just stay still, I’ll check on your mom.” He runs over and opens the door, I can’t see what he’s doing, but whatever it is can’t be good, mom hasn’t made a sound since we crashed. “Has the other lady moved or said anything?”

  “No, neither have, what’s wrong with them?” I ask just as the sound of sirens rings out, “Hear that mom, that's the ambulance.” Still nothing, I know that there is something seriously wrong with her.

  “Ryder, oh god. That wasn’t your fault! That was a terrible accident.” Skye tells me pulling me from my memories.

  “I know it was an accident, but I was the one driving, I’m the one that got them killed!”

  “For goodness sake! It’s not your fault.” She looks as though she wants to throttle me, but then her eyes go soft, “what happened to your mom?”

  “She was pronounced dead on arrival. She wasn’t wearing a seatbelt; I didn’t even notice!” If I had, I would have told her to put it on.

  “What about Rachel?” She has tears in her eyes as she takes my hand offering comfort where it’s not deserved.

  “Rachel also wasn’t wearing a seatbelt; she sustained multiple fractures and a head injury. We thought she was okay; she was for two days until she died, the doctors said it was a blood clot. We also found out that she was pregnant, when I say we I mean, her mom, dad, sister, Will and I. That was a hard pill to swallow, knowing that your girlfriend was four weeks pregnant by Will. That car accident, cost three people their lives as well as affecting so many more and I’m the one who was driving.”

  “I’m going to smack you upside your head! YOU are not to blame for that accident.” She does indeed slap me, but not on my head; she slaps me on my shoulder along with giving me a look that tells me I’m stupid. “That’s like saying you're to blame for what happened to Sophia in Afghanistan! Don’t be so pig-headed!”

  I don’t say anything because I am to blame for that too. I was in charge; I should have seen that it was a trap. I should have been able to protect my team if I had Smithy would still be alive, and Sophia wouldn’t have been hurt. I should have seen that Caleb betrayed us; I could have saved everyone from all the hurt and suffering that they’ve suffered.

  “Oh my god! You blame yourself for Afghanistan. Ryder...” She sounds exhausted, and I want to take her back to the hotel, not to the fucking morgue.

  “I should have known who Caleb was, and what he was doing!” I hate fucking talking about shit; there’s no point in dredging up the past, I told her about mom and Rachel because she deserved to know.

  “Why’s that Ryder, why should you have known when none of the rest of us did?” She shakes her head in disgust as we walk into the train station, now isn't the time to be having this conversation, there are way too many people around. She’s so angry, and I guess it’s better than her being upset and crying.

  She’s seething quietly and hasn’t even looked in my direction the entire time we were on the trains, and it’s fucking annoying. I guess it’s why everyone gets pissed off with me because I’m silent most of the time. I don’t see the need to talk constantly, and I fucking hate chit-chat. Whereas Skye loves to talk, she loves to know everything and see if she can help in any way.

  Like when she found out Winter was raped, Skye and Sophia helped her get away; she also took her side against Maddie and completely pushed them out of her life. She didn't even know Maddie or Hailey when this happened, but Skye’s the type of person who is loyal to a fault. I never understood why she was so protective of Winter, I know she was raped, and I saw the devastation that had on her, but she didn’t really know her.

  “You’re brooding a lot more than usual, thinking of something else you supposedly are to blame for?” Skye says while she’s looking at her cell for directions, we’re kind of lost now but thank fuck for GPS.

  “No, I was wondering what made you so protective of Winter?”

  She looks up from her cell with a confused look on her face, and I’m pretty sure that it’s because of the question I asked her and not because we’re still lost. “What made you think of that?”

  “I don’t know, I just did.” I shrug it off as though it’s not a big deal.

  “I don’t know; it’s a difficult one.” She looks down at her cell again, “This way,” she points to her left, and I dutifully follow her, “Sophia needed my help, and we brought Winter to a therapist, she broke in that office Ryder, I’ve never heard anyone break before. I never want to hear that again either, just thinking about that sound brings back the image of Winter and her vulnerability.” She looks at her cell before turning right down a street that is full of houses. “Ryder, I don’t know how to explain it, I watched a woman crumble with fear and sadness. I watched that woman hurt more than I’ve ever seen anyone hurt before all because some fucker didn’t know what no meant.”

  I walk up close to her and throw my arm over her shoulder, offering her comfort. She takes it and leans in close to my body as we walk toward the hospital, “Ryder, do you blame Sam for not knowing who Caleb really is?”

  “No, why would you even think that?” I wouldn’t blame Sam; he’s one of my brothers!

  “Why not? He lived with Caleb, hell they were best friends, why shouldn’t he have known?” Her anger is back, and I don’t know why she’s asking me this, why would she even think this? “Surely you blame Sam?”

  “No, I don’t blame Sam, sometimes people don’t show you the real them. Sometimes even the best are deceived, there’s nothing you can do about it other than learn from it.”

  She has a smirk on her face, and I feel as though I’ve just been had. “Yeah well, you should take your own words and use them. We were all deceived, Sam a hell of a lot more than the rest of us. You weren’t to blame, and neither was Sam.”

  I know what she’s saying is true, but I still feel responsible, “He was part of my team, I should have known.”

&nbs
p; “Okay Ryder I know that nothing I say will make you change your mind, but I will say one thing. Your mom, Rachel, and Smithy wouldn’t hold you responsible for their deaths; I think it’s time for you to forgive yourself.” She holds her cell up, twists it like that’s going to help her somehow but as I have no idea what the hell she’s doing, I don’t know if it’s going to work. “Aha, this way.” She turns right and points to the big building at the end of the road, “There’s the hospital.”

  Do I deserve to forgive myself? That I’m not sure yet, I don’t think I am, but the way that Skye looks at me makes me want to be worthy of forgiveness. “Are you okay?”

  “I will be once I see the body. I’m praying that it’s not her, but then I feel bad that someone else will feel what I’m feeling right now.”

  “Whatever happens Skye, you’ll be okay,” I reassure her as I see the sign for the morgue, I take her hand and see someone who I presume is Sergeant Bell standing outside the morgue. Skye’s intake of breath is the only indication of her nerves.

  “You must be Ms. Taylor and Mr. Marshall?” The red-headed man asks, and its definitely Sergeant Bell.

  I want to correct him and say that she’s Mrs. Marshall, but I won’t be that dick today, Skye doesn’t need it, “Yes, you must be Sergeant Bell.” I put my hand out for him to shake and he doesn’t hesitate to do so.

  He then shakes Skye’s hand who seems to be in a state of shock, “I am, if you follow me we will go in, thank you for doing this Ms. Taylor.” Skye just nods as we walk down a corridor to a viewing room, this place is sterile, and I hope that it’s not Addison in that room, having this as the last memory of your sister is something I wouldn’t wish on anyone.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Skye

  My palms are sweaty, and my mouth has gone dry, I don’t know if I can do this, I don’t want to see whoever it is. I’m staring at this window, looking at the dirt and grime and all I can think about is if the window is this dirty what about the bed that the body’s lying on, will that be dirty too? I wish they’d take the sheet off that’s hiding the body from me. I need to know if it’s her! Sergeant Bell taps on the window, and the man in the room walks over to the body and touches the sheet.

  I steel myself for what I’m about to see, the man uncovers the face, and I take a deep breath as I stare at it. The beautiful brown hair is stark against the pale face, the skin so grey that it looks as though it’s porcelain and fragile. I stare hard at the beautiful woman lying on the bed and wonder what did she do to deserve her life to be cut so short. “Ms. Taylor, do you know who this is?” Sergeant Bell asks me.

  The breath I was holding comes out in a big whoosh as my knees buckle beneath me and a sob wracks my body. Luckily Ryder’s there to stop me from falling. The sobs are so hard that they hurt my chest and throat. “Skye,” Ryder sounds so distant yet so worried, and I know that I’m scaring him right now.

  “It’s not her, oh God, Ry, it’s not her.” I try and tell him, but it’s hard to decipher with my sobs coming every other second.

  “Babe, you got to calm down, take a deep breath and focus on me,” Ryder tells me, and I do as he asks, I focus on him and the collar of his shirt. Right now, I can’t look at his face, or I’ll break again. “That’s it, deep breath in and out.” I continue to stare at his collar and do as he asks; it helps to calm me down until I know that I can talk properly. “What’s wrong babe?”

  “It’s not her Ry; it’s not Addi!” I give him a small smile and my breath hitches.

  “Fuck, I thought. Damn Skye that’s good, we’ll find her I promise.” His warm hand takes hold of my cold one and squeezes, this is him offering comfort to me, and I lean against him taking it.

  “Ms. Taylor, do you know who this woman is?” Sergeant Bell asks, and I forgot about him.

  Turning to him I see his expression looks haunted; this must be one of the hardest things to do, watching someone break if it’s their family member. “It’s Gloria,” I tell him, and my eyes go back to her beautiful face, she didn’t deserve this, no matter what, she didn’t deserve to die so young.

  “Are you sure?” Bell asks, why on earth would I say it was if I wasn’t sure? His expression changes to one of impatience.

  “Yes, I’m sure it’s Gloria.” My voice is hoarse as I stare at Gloria’s pale face.

  “I’ll call her family, thank you for doing this; I know that it can’t have been easy for you.” He nods at Ryder and I and taps on the glass again, and the sheet goes back over Gloria’s face.

  “Come on; we’ll go back to the hotel. We’ll call Oscar and see if there’s anything new,” Ryder whispers to me, and I see that Bell is staring at us I nod against Ryder’s head not wanting to give anything away to Bell. There’s something about the way he’s looking at me that I don’t trust. “Call us if you have any developments,” Ryder tells him but doesn’t give him any information; he’ll have to call Patrick who will then tell us. Ryder places his hand at the base of my back giving it a gentle push; I get the message, it’s time to go.

  “Tell me you know where Addison is?” Ryder demands, we’re back in the hotel and Ryder’s talking to Oscar, well talking isn’t the right word; he’s demanding things yet again. “Tell me that you retraced the vehicle that you found out where it was before driving to the fucking river and throwing Gloria’s body in.”

  “Ryder” I warn, it’s not Oscar’s fault and being an asshole isn’t going to help, I’m pacing as I wait for any news to as where the hell Addi is.

  “Okay, we’ll head over there tonight; did you track where he went after?” He’s still gruff when he speaks to Oscar but not a complete asshole. “Even fucking better, we’ll check them out. Any information on where Addison is?”

  Listening to a one-sided conversation is driving me crazy; I want to know what’s happening and what they’ve found out. This pacing is just making things worse, but it’s keeping me from snatching the cell from Ryder’s hands. “Okay, hopefully, someone at either the warehouse or the strip club knows where she is,” Ryder says still on his cell, his eyes are on me though, and my heart sinks, no word on her and they have no idea where she is. Right now, it’s a guessing game but the thing about guessing; sometimes you’re going to make a good guess.

  Ryder ends the call, and I stare at him expectantly, “You look beautiful.” He says, and it’s come completely left field.

  “Umm, thank you! So, what did Oscar say?”

  He narrows his eyes at me but doesn’t say anything about my saying thank you, now isn’t the time for sex! “The Jeep left the strip club and went directly to throwing Gloria into the river, and Oscar and Henry tracked the Jeep to a warehouse in Shepherds Bush.”

  “Where the hell is that?” I’m ready to go; I really hope that Addi is there and is okay before Ryder can answer me there’s a knock on the door, “Are you expecting someone?” He shakes his head, but I can tell by the look in his eyes that he has some inclination at who it is. It’s my turn to narrow my eyes at him, but he just smirks and shakes his head yet again, the knocking gets louder.

  I open the door and am shocked to see, Oscar, Sam, Winter, Will, Patrick and Maisey.

  “You!” I point at Ryder, “You told me you were talking to Oscar!”

  “No, I never said it was Oscar. You just presumed it was.” He has that stupid smirk on his face.

  “Ugh! You’re so annoying.”

  “Hi,” Winter says, and I turn and face her, everyone is standing there with big smiles on their faces and Winter rushes forward to give me a hug, “Oh and congratulations.” She pulls back and looks at my stomach.

  “Oh, thanks, come on in. What are you guys doing here?” I’m genuinely shocked that they’re here. They all come into my room, and Sam, Will, Oscar, Patrick and Gareth all walk over to Ryder and the girls stay beside me.

  “We’re here to help you get your sister back,” Maisey says although it sounded as though she wanted to say duh at t
he end of her sentence. “It’s so good to see you! How are you holding up?”

  “I’m okay,” They both have the same look on their faces, the look that says they think I’m lying. “Honestly, I’m okay. I just want to find her and go home, where are you staying?”

  “We’ll find her Skye, and you’ll bring her home with you. We’re staying in the hotel, we’ve already checked in.” Maisey says, and I note that she never said alive, just I’ll bring her home.

  “How are things with Ryder?” I’m surprised it took Winter this long to ask.

  “We’re okay; we’ve been getting along if that’s what you mean.” I know it’s not; she wants to know if we’ve had sex and it’s one of the worst things about having such a close-knit group, well family really, they want to know every detail about everything.

  “Hmm, it’ll do for now.” She smiles, and it’s good to see her happy.

  “How are Hailey and Maddie?”

  A dark look passes on Winter’s face, and Maisey walks toward the guys leaving Winter and me alone. “Hailey isn’t herself, she’s still in the hospital, but she’s awake now, she just won’t talk to anyone. Scott’s not helping; he won’t let them go back to the house which is definitely jinxed. He’s insisting they stay with him, which hasn’t gone down well with Nathan or Sam.” Shit, I bet it hasn’t, the guys love Hailey, and every single one of them would die for her but Maddie, well she burnt her relationship with everyone, but most of them are giving her wide berth as she’s Hailey’s sister except for Nathan and Sam.

  “How is Maddie?” I feel bad for her, she’s been through a lot even though she was a complete bitch to Winter, and she didn’t deserve to be beaten.

  “She’s okay, I’ve spoken to her, and she seems different. She apologized for everything she did and said, and it seemed sincere. It’s going to take time to finally say that I forgive everything that happened, but I don’t hate her.” Wow, I don’t know if it were me that she called a liar about being raped that I’d be able to forgive her.